Let The Beat Control Your Body
by DJ OMiY
Summary: Frank, Lizzie, and Tommy are back in a new story! This time, their love for DDR takes an interesting turn. It eventually evolves into a race to save a world! Read and review...Rated T for mild language and some innuendo.
1. Overdo

A/N: Ok, Silent Hill never really took off…But if you really want to get more of it, just let me know. Anyhoo, this is a DDR/IIDX Story with same characters. However, Cory is not here this time around. It is just Frank, Lizzie, and Tommy. Expect a ton of songfics. Let's see if this one works out. BTW, this was somewhat to strongly influenced by the DDR stories by Darkness Shade. Please check them out. To a DDR fan it's awesome! (RYANxCHARMY forever!)

**_LET THE BEAT CONTROL YOUR BODY…_**

**Chapter 1: Overdo**

Includes Songfic: _Wonderful Night_

* * *

"Oh come ON, Tommy!" Lizzie complained. "You're doing it _again_?"

Tommy smiled as _CURUS_ blared out of the speakers. "What's wrong with that?"

Frank slapped his head and said, "Just let him do it. He'll get tired of the song soon enough."

"Yeah right."

Tommy began dancing with surprising skill for a 11-year old. Arrows flew up the screen and Tommy nailed almost all of them.

"What? I got a B? What the…"

Frank laughed as he stepped up onto the mat. "Just because you can't get an A doesn't mean you should be jealous of my mad skills."

Tommy grinned and stuck his tongue out at Frank.

Lizzie waved a game box in the air. "Too much DDR SuperNOVA! Come on! Let's play Extreme2 or something!"

"Sure thing, if King Thomas doesn't mind," Frnak chuckled.

Tommy gave Frank a mock evil eye, and then nodded his head.

He popped in the game disc and started the game.

"What should I do first?" Frank asked. "_Injection Of Love_, _butterfly_, or _Wonderful Night_?"

"Definitely _Wonderful Night_!" Tommy cheered.

Frank spun the song wheel until _Wonderful Night_ played. He bumped the difficulty up to heavy and began to sway with the music.

"Oh yeah…"

_Yeah…yeah yeah yeah…_

_Hmm hmm hmm hmm…_

Frank began to step wildly.

_It's a wonderful night!_

_Gotta take it from me._

_It's a wonderful night._

_Come on and break it on down._

_It's a wonderful night!_

_Go ahead and release._

_It's a wonderful night!_

_Come on and break it on down._

Frank showed no signs of slowing down.

_You know the music search engine need a tune-up._

_Soon as they out the gate they all a wanna hit da corner, uh-huh._

_Well that was cool but now but then I heard a rumor, uh-huh._

_Your crew was ridin' for the White Cliffs of Dover, uh-huh.  
_

Lizzie began singing with the music. Tommy started doing a little dance.

_Oh let me tell ya how we do it in California,  
_

_We'll have you on the run just like a Puma.  
_

_If it don't move us,  
_

_Ain't paid ya dues and it ain't gonna get our groove on so  
_

_We gonna lose ya to the consumer solution, c'mon!_

Frank started getting tired. "This…is getting…really hard…"

_It's a wonderful night!_

_You've gotta take it from me.  
_

_It's a wonderful night! _

Come on and break it on down.

It's a wonderful night!

_You've gotta shake it for me.  
_

_It's a wonderful night! _

Come on and break it on down.

The steps then became a constant stream, relentlessly pouring on to the step zone.

"Keep it going, Frank!" Tommy encouraged. Frank smiled weakly. He wasn't sure if he could last the whole song.

Girl I want it you got it,

_Your body's like a narcotic,  
_

_The thought is auto-erotic. (Come on and break it down)  
_

_Can I get it on credit,  
_

_I guess your brickhouse I'll bet it,  
_

_Take it as far as you'll let it. _

Come on and break it on down.

There was a break in he song. "Think I can last?" Frank panted. They didn't get a chance to answer before the steps picked up again.

_That the spot will get hot._

_That it's ready to pop._

_Don't even look at the clock._

_All of your problems forgotten._

_It's time to rock till you drop._

_Feel the force and just flock_

_To the epicenter of the party's bass tremors, c'mon!_

_It's a wonderful night!_

_You've gotta take it from me._

_It's a wonderful night!_

_Come on and break it on down._

_It's a wonderful night!_

_You've gotta shake it for me._

_It's a wonderful night!_

_Come on and break it on down…_

Frank flopped down on the couch in success. Scores flashed up across the screen. He ended up with an A.

He looked over at Tommy and grinned.

"Just shut up," Tommy laughed. "Shut. Up."

Lizzie hopped up on the mat.

"My turn!" She said. She scrolled through the songlist. "Oh yeah, _Injection Of Love_ time!"

The songlist stopped on _Injection Of Love (HINA MIX)_. An interesting blend of techno and cabaret music boomed out of the TV.

"Any objections."

Hearing none, she pushed X.

* * *

Ending Notes: What do YOU think is gonna happen next? I built it up kinda weakly. Heck, half the chapter was Wonderful Night, but next chapter won't have a songfic, so…

Hey, it works.

**Next Chapter: Land of Song**


	2. Land Of Song

A/N: We're back, and this time…ok, I lied…a short songfic. What did you think happened once Lizzie pushed X? Well, you're about to find out. And also, I hope my anonymous reviewer helps me out a bit here too! Even if DDR/IIDX isn't you category, you were a big help last time!

_**LET THE BEAT CONTROL YOUR BODY…**_

**Chapter 2: Land of Song**

Includes Songfic: _INJECTION OF LOVE_

Frank didn't know why it happened. He didn't know if it actually happened. It was like being in a dream. He was being rushed along as if in a river. He could vaguely see two shady outlines. Lizzie? Tommy?

Lizzie was on high alert. She saw Frank a few feet away, seemingly unconscious. Tommy was also the same way. It had happened all too fast. Once she pushed X, it was like the TV exploded, and the wild cabaret music swirled around them, sweeping them away.

"What?" Lizzie whispered. She could hear a voice. It was quiet…no, louder now.

_Modaeru say you love me,  
midarete kuruu, you want it.  
Nureru kotoba dake._

She swirled forward into the blue abyss as the voice continued to sing. The voice was very flirty. Even more amazing was that the seemingly Japanese lyrics went to the song she picked, _Injection of Love_.

_Afureru say you need me,  
obiete kuruu, I want it.  
Moeru kuchizukete._

Tommy was out cold.

_Kanjite. (touch me)  
Kiss shite. (lick me)  
Yasashiku. (stroke me) _

Ai shite ai shite...

Frank was waking up, he heard the song sweeping him down the tunnel. Was it a tunnel? He wasn't entirely sure. He could see a distant point glowing brightly a ways down the tunnel. He was starting to lose consciousness again. He just wished that voice wouldn't stop.

_Yura yura tokete.  
Fuwa fuwa yuku wa.  
Yubi wo karamasete mo,  
mono tarinai wa. _

Kura kura shizumi.  
Tsura tsura ochiru.  
Anata no subete wo motto,  
sosogi dashite yo.

Lizzie saw that they were approaching that point of light at an alarming pace. She began to get worried. She looked back and saw the tunnel opening up into infinity. She turned around. Maybe it was good they were going this way.

_Tsutsumare. Dakiyose._

_Kokoro furuwase.  
Anata no. Oku made._

_Ochite yukitai no. Ohhhh…_

The music stopped, Lizzie fell, and the world went white.

* * *

Rage Ito stepped with amazing skill as he pounded the metal pad with his shoes. Emi Toshiba, behind him, watched.

Dynamite Rave stopped blasting out of the speakers. The scores flashed up onto the screen. It was an A.

"Man!" Rage yelled. "Just not as many goods, and I have a AA!" Emi laughed.

"Hey, my turn!" She leaped onto the pad, and started scrolling through the songlist. After a minute, she stopped on Freckles (KCP Re-Edit). "Yes, I love this song!"

_Still your memory's clear,_

_Always here de-_

The screen flickered, and went out. "Whoa!"

Rage came up to the screen. He tapped it. "What happened?"

"You're asking me?"

"Good point."

A loud bang erupted out side of the arcade. Rage and Emi looked at each other.

"What was that?" Rage asked.

"Let's go!" Emi yelled.

They ran outside of the arcade building and looked up. The sky was a weird purplish-green color. Lightning crackled across the sky. Another large bang rattled the street. The world went white and a brilliant flash blotted out the street.

"Rage! Where'd you go!?" Emi screamed. The flash was beginning to fade.

She waited a minute for her eyes to readjust, then ran over to Rage, who was standing ten feet away.

"Emi, look!" Rage said, pointing to the middle of the street. Three kids were lying there, unmoving.

"Are they…dead?" Emi whispered. One of them, a girl, stirred. "Nope, guess not."

The girl lifted her head. The older of the two boys rolled over, and coughed. He picked up his head. The youngest of them, a boy, lifted his head.

The older boy saw Rage and Emi. His jaw dropped. The girl looked. She gasped. The younger boy looked. He fainted. Rage and Emi walked over.

"Is everything alright?" Rage asked them. The boy and girl didn't speak.

"Can we do anything to help?" Emi inquired. The girl finally said something.

"Wh-Wh-Where the heck are we?!" She asked. Emi and Rage looked at each other.

"Ummm," Emi started. "You're in Ibamen. We live here."

"You look pretty shaken. Where do you live?" Rage asked.

"Earth," The boy answered. "Where the heck is Ibamen?"

Emi and Rage didn't know how to answer that. It was their world. Their planet. Maybe this Earth was theirs? They didn't know.

Emi glanced over at the arcade building. The machines were back on.

"Here, you have money?" she questioned. The boy and girl dug into their pockets.

"Nope.

"Uh-uh."

"I do." The girl and boy turned around.

"Tommy! You're awake!" The girl gasped. She moved over to him.

Rage held up his hands. "OK, let's figure this out over a few rounds of DDR."

The children's faces lit up immediately.

"All right, it's on!" the older boy yelled. They raced into the arcade.

"A DDR SuperNOVA machine?! Sweet!"

Lizzie jumped onto the pad and began scrolling through the songs. Suddenly, she looked down.

"Wait, don't I have to put coins in?" she asked. There were no coin slots in the machine's front.

Emi laughed. "What do you mean? DDR is a national sport! You don't have to pay!" Lizzie shot a glance at Tommy and Frank, giggled excitedly, and continued to scroll through songs.

After a minute, she settled on _CANDY_. "Whoo! I love this song!" She began dancing like crazy on the pad.

An hour or so later, the whole story was explained to Rage and Emi.

"Interesting…" Rage murmured.

"That's cool, and kinda scary too. You were really just plucked away?"

"Yeah," Tommy answered.

"Hey, you guys got a place to stay?"

Frank's eyes widened. He hadn't thought about that. "Uhhh…no."

Rage grinned. "No problem. Just let me find Izam…" As Rage walked off, the three kids looked at Emi.

"Izam is Rage's brother," Emi explained. "He'll help you out."

After a few minutes, Rage walked back with a man a bit older than him, wearing a rainbow hat, and dressed in and red shirt and tan shorts. He had dredlocks protruding from the back of his hat.

"This is Izam." Rage said.

"Hey, I hear you people need a home," Izam said smiling. "Well, I can help you there."

He began asking them questions, punching stuff into a device he held in his hand. After he had finished, he pressed a large button, and it beeped.

"There, that's done."

Frank looked at Lizzie and Tommy. They were all very confused.

"Let's go to my house," Emi suggested with a smile.

* * *

When they got there, Lizzie asked, "Who are your neighbors?"

"Well," Emi started. "To my right is Alice Suzuki's house. To my left is…"

"Who?"

"You."

They were dumbstruck. They looked at the left house. Sure enough, the mailbox said 'Lizzie, Tommy, and Frank.' Izam tossed Frank some keys and then walked off with Rage.

Emi grinned. "Let's go check out your new house!"

"All right!" Frank yelled.

They bolted up the walk and Frank unlocked the door. "WHOA!"

The entrance was open with a spiral staircase going up to the second floor. Tommy's mouth dropped open. Lizzie ran into the center of the room.

"This is amazing!" Lizzie laughed. Frank ran up the stairs.

"Hey guys! Up here!" he yelled back down the stairs. Emi, Lizzie, and Tommy all came up. There were four rooms in a row with arrows on them. The first one, green, had an F. The second one, yellow, had an L. The third one, blue, had a T. The last door appeared to be a bathroom.

Tommy peeked in his door. "Cool!" His room was painted blue, and had a mural on the far wall. It showed _murmur twins_. "Follow you…" he began singing. A big bed rested against one wall, and on a desk sat a large stereo. Beside the door was a stack of CDs.

Lizzie checked her room. It was yellow. It had another large bed, and another stereo, but the mural on her wall showed _CURUS_. She also had a walk-in closet with lots of clothes.

Frank finally checked out his (green) room. It contained the same with a mural of _starmine_. The desk, however, had a computer on it as well. He loaded it up, and saw a desktop. He clicked around for a bit, and then went to join the others.

"You guys," Emi said. "Check out what's downstairs!"

Frank peeked into the room and saw two machines. "Hey, this one looks like a DDR machine, and this one looks like a IIDX machine." he said. They were stark white, and weren't on.

"I guess I need to explain some more," Emi said. "These are special Morph machines. You put a disk into the drive, and it changes to that machine! You'll notice you have two for each over on the fireplace mantle." She pointed towards the fireplace.

Tommy went over and grabbed the four cases. "DDRMAX, DDRMAX2, beatmania IIDX 4th style, and beatmania IIDX 6th style."

Lizzie smiled, grabbed one of the cases, and ran to the DDR machine. Frank grabbed another and ran to the IIDX machine. Tommy just followed Lizzie. Lizzie inserted DDRMAX into a slot on the side of the DDR machine, and the machine flashed.

"Whoa! Look!"

The machine turned bright orange and morphed into a perfect DDRMAX arcade machine!

"Sweet!" Lizzie laughed.

Frank did the same with beatmania IIDX 4th style. The machine started and prompted his song.

"It's _starmine_ time!" Frank yelled.

Emi smiled, but couldn't help worrying. Was this what they had been waiting for?

* * *

Ending Notes: FINALLY! I FINISHED THE SECOND CHAPTER!

WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :)

Next Chapter: DELTA


	3. Delta

A/N: All right! Time to get going yet again! This time, I'm actually going to develop some sort of story. We're about to turn Ibamen upside down! (By the way, whoever's read "When the rain falls," my other fic, I pulled same trick with Ibamen as I did with TAKAMU. Can _you_ figure it out?)

LET THE BEAT CONTROL YOUR BODY… Chapter 3: DELTA 

Tommy woke the next morning. He rolled out of his bed and snuck down to the kitchen. A package laid on the table. It read, "From Izam." He left it alone. Better let Frank or Lizzie deal with it.

"You're up early." He heard. He spun around.

"Oh, hi Frank."

"Heard you come down the steps. What's up?"

"There's a package."

"Really?"

Frank walked over and opened the package. Inside were 3 thin, but sturdy cards.

"There's a note."

_Dear Frank, Lizzie, and Tommy,_

_I would like to present these to you. They are your new best friend. They hold your identities, keep track of credits, and can save personal bests on DDR, Pop'n, IIDX, etc. I don't know where you three came from, or why, but I want you three to like Ibamen. Enjoy yourselves. There's work for credits, so you don't have to worry when the 2000 on your cards run out. Life should be pretty normal for you._

_---Izam_

Lizzie came down the steps and walked into the kitchen.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's our 'new best friends.'" Frank joked. Lizzie read the letter and took the yellow card with an L on it.

"Well, now we're learning about this world." Lizzie smiled.

Frank and Tommy took their cards.

"Also," Frank added. "We came stocked! There are mopeds in the garage, and the kitchen is loaded with food!"

Tommy giggled and bit into an apple. Lizzie went to the phone.

"Hey, there are some numbers on the speed dial!" she exclaimed. "Emi Home, Emi Cell, Rage/Izam Home, Rage Cell, Izam Cell, Alice Home, Alice Cell." She looked at it admiringly. "They sure set us up nice."

"Yeah, I wish we could thank them…" Frank mumbled.

"Hey!" Lizzie yelled.

"What?" Tommy said, surprised.

"Let's bake sugar cookies! We know how, and we have a lot of credits on these cards! We can get what we don't have." Lizzie grinned at her idea.

Frank smiled too. "Great idea, Lizzie. Let's check if we need to buy anything."

They went through the cupboards and the refrigerator.

"Ok," Tommy said, looking at their list. "We need sugar, icing, and a few more eggs."

"Great," Frank said. "We won't need the mopeds yet. The market's not too far."

When they reached the market, they were amazed.

"Wow!" Lizzie exclaimed. This place is so cool!" It was an open-air market, full of booths and stalls and buildings and many other things! They looked around for a bit, then stepped into an air-conditioned grocery store.

"This is pretty neat," Frank grinned. He glanced around the store and began to run towards the baking aisle. "Guys, over he-"

CRASH!

Frank fell down and looked up. A blue-haired girl in an orange shirt and jeans was in front of him, on her bottom and rubbing her arm.

"Oh, sorry," the girl said timidly. She started to get up.

"No, wait!" Frank yelled. She looked back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to run into you! What's your name?"

"Alice."

"Alice Suzuki?"

"Hey, how do you know that?" 

"I live next door."

Alice gave him a strange look. "You arrived with Emi yesterday, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, nice meeting you. Maybe we'll see each other around the neighborhood."

Frank stood dumbfounded as Alice silently walked away. He picked himself up and continued to the baking aisle. She was so…weird. No, she was just shy. That was it.

Lizzie and Tommy had already gotten the things they needed when Frank arrived at them.

"Where were you?" Lizzie asked, glancing at Frank.

Frank said, "I met Alice."

"Alice? You mean Alice Suzuki, our neighbor?"

"Yeah."

"Hmmm…" Lizzie murmured.

Tommy piped up, "Hey Frank, you ready to go?"

"Sure, let's go."

They left the aisle and checked out with their cards. They started down the road towards their house. Frank dropped the bag of groceries, and turned to pick it up. He saw three black-cloaked figures across the street looking directly at them. He hurried back over to Lizzie and Tommy. However, they had problems of their own.

"What…? Who are you?" He could hear Lizzie say around the corner of a house.

"Stay away from them!" A deep voice said.

Frank turned the corner. Another figure was startled by him and disappeared.

"What the heck is this?" Frank asked. "There were some more across the street!" The three ran to their house, locked the door, and bolted to the kitchen. Frank grabbed the phone and pressed speed dial 2, Emi's Cell.

…

…

"Hello?"

"Emi?" 

"Yes, this is Emi Toshiba."

"Emi, it's Frank."

"Frank, what's wrong? You sound a little scared."

"Emi, what do you know about people in black cloaks and want us to 'stay away from them?'"

Emi said nothing for a long time.

"Emi!"

"All right, Frank. Meet me at Alice's house. I'll leave work early. Everything will be explained."

In five minutes, Emi, Frank, Lizzie, and Tommy were standing in front of Alice's house. Rage was running up the street.

"Emi?! Did it…"

"Oh yes!"

Rage shot a worried glance at the group. Emi rang the doorbell.

The door opened. Alice was standing in the doorway.

"Umm…Hi." She said.

"Alice, it's happened." Emi said gravely.

Alice went white.

"Are you serious?" She asked. "Is it them?"

Tommy looked around. "I'M NOT GETTING ANY ANSWERS HERE!!!"

Rage suppressed a smile. "Here. Let's go inside."

After entering, Alice's house, the group went into her library. Alice walked over to bookshelf, and pulled on a book called "Within Me." The bookshelf slid aside and they walked though. After walking for a minute, they entered a large laboratory.

"Hey, what is this?" Frank asked.

"This is the headquarters of our organization." Alice explained quietly. "We help defend people from PARANOiD."

"Remember those goons you saw earlier?" Emi jumped in. "They are members of PARANOiD. It is a terrorist group that uses its powers to wreak havoc. However, they have many of their members in prison, so they are no longer an organized threat."

"However," Rage continued. "A while back, a tablet was found in the ruins north of here. They said that three people would come and kill their leaders, the PARANOiAs." 

"PARANOiAs?" Lizzie asked.

"Yeah," Emi said. "It was all over the news. The members that weren't in jail tried to make up for their lost members. Any reports of three mysterious people were tracked then intimidated. Luckily, we found you before they could confuse and scare you completely."

"So," Frank started. "We have just been flung into the center of a war?"

"War's a pretty strong word," Rage said. "Confict is more like it. However, it's a dangerous one at that. Will you join us?"

"Ummmm…" Tommy said, uncertain.

"We'll do it." Lizzie stated boldly.

"We will?" Frank said, looking over at her.

"Yes!" Lizzie confirmed, giving Frank a look.

"Oh. Yeah. We'll do it."

"Great," Alice said, a hint of a smile on her face. "In that case, there are some friends we'd like you to meet."

"Oh yeah!" Emi exclaimed, slapping her forehead. "Guys! Come on out!"

Four people stepped around a corner and walked up to them.

"What the hell!?" Frank yelled.

A tall alien with a dress down to her knees walked up to Frank. "Nice to meet you, Frank," she said.

"It's Tran!" Frank gasped. "From the…starmine…video."

Two young kids walked up to Tommy.

"I'm Jon," the boy said.

"I'm Kim." The girl said.

Tommy almost fainted. "It's the murmur twins!" 

Finally, a girl in a winter coat and gloves stepped up to Lizzie.

Lizzie said unbelievingly, "You're Flow Flow! From CURUS!"

Flow Flow smiled. "You're right."

Tommy got the connection. "Remember the murals in our rooms!"

Frank and Lizzie both looked at Tommy, then back to their partners.

Emi laughed. "It's time to give you seven your official team name!"

Rage looked at them. He said, "You are now Team Delta! You seven are the new recruits in the resistance organization."

The seven looked at each other and thought about what would come next.

Ending Notes: Well…What you think? To get videos of Tran, the murmur twins, and Flow Flow, go to youtube. First search for "starmine video." Then search for "murmur twins." To get Flow Flow, search "CURUS Mokai's Edit."


	4. HOPES

A/N: I haven't worked on this story in a while…but who cares! Time for chapter 4, and a major expansion in the story!

LET THE BEAT CONTROL YOUR BODY… Chapter 4: HOPES 

Lizzie glanced around the room. She was standing with six other people, all staring at Rage Ito.

"So, can we get some more info on PARANOiD?" she asked.

Rage and Emi nodded. Rage walked over to a computer and started up what looked like a fancy powerpoint.

"PARANOiD is an organization that uses terror to gain power and disrupt the normal course of everyday life." Emi began.

Rage clicked, and a picture of nine figures came onto the big screen.

"These are the leaders."

"Leaders?" Frank broke in. "The PARANOiAs?"

Emi rolled her eyes. "Yes! Thank you Captain Obvious! God!"

Tommy chuckled.

"Anyways," she continued. "There are nine leaders as far as we know. However, they do not roam freely causing havoc. They have been caught and banished."

"Banished?" Tommy asked. "To where?"

"I'm getting to it!" Emi smiled. "They were banished to a giant structure north of here known as the PARANOiD arena. No true PARANOiA can ever escape."

Frank had been silently going over something in his head.

"Frank," Lizzie murmured. "What's up?"

"I think I know why there are nine," he said.

Emi grinned. "I think you figured it out. Randomly, after the first few were banished, new PARANOiAs would appear inside the PARANOiD arena. We know this from our cameras inside the complex. Let's take a little history stroll."

_PARANOiA was first. He is now 72 years old, and doesn't do much. He sits around and seems to meditate._

_Rebirth was second. Currently, he is 41. He walks around with a small ponytail, and has violent surges, when everybody and everything is a target._

_After him was EVOLUTION. He is 39 and 8 ½ feet tall! He is arrogant, making him believe he was better than everybody else due to his height._

_MAX and KCET followed. They both are 33. When they arrived, KCET had one robotic arm, and MAX had two. They still do, and nobody knows how they got them or why._

_Another duo showed up some years later. Survivor MAX and ETERNAL appeared around the same time. They are 26 years old. Survivor MAX has become the self-proclaimed leader of the group, ever since PARANOiA has been too old to rule. ETERNAL brawls constantly, causing the rest to gang up on him. His shirt is ripped in numerous places._

_A few more years, and Respect joined the growing numbers. Respect is 19, and he has shown his face to the cameras twice, when he first arrived, and for the picture we got up there now._

_It wasn't long before Survivor finished the line. He is 18 and is supposedly the "brother" of Survivor MAX. They look almost exactly like one another. Both have hair covering one of their eyes. However, Survivor MAX parts his to the left, while Survivor does his to the right. Finally, Survivor MAX has some sort of shoulder armor._

Emi looked away from the large picture of the nine PARANOiAs and turned her attention to Team Delta. "These nine are the main causes of the chaos, since many followers have gone to their side."

Lizzie looked closely at the picture. She swore that there was another shadowy figure behind ETERNAL. Was there another PARANOiA? Why wasn't he in the picture?

Frank smiled. "I don't think I'll ever look at a PARANOiA song the same way again."

Tran and Flow Flow were also staring intently at the picture. "Hey, do you see that behind ETERNAL?" Flow Flow quietly called.

Lizzie looked over. "So it's not just me! I saw that too!"

Jon and Kim went over with Tommy to the computer.

Tommy looked back. "Do you think there's another?"

Rage shook his head. "I don't know how there could be. The figure in that picture is obviously at least 13. How could he have gotten past us all this time without knowing?"

Frank shrugged his shoulders. "It sure is possible."

Emi grinned, and said, "All right, who wants to learn about something else we detected about you seven?"

Team Delta was immediately attentive.

"I'll put it bluntly, everyone of you has a power," she continued.

Eyes widened all throughout the room.

"Yes," Emi said. "Each one of you has one and needs to know A, what it is, and B, how to use it."

Rage walked over to Frank. "You have the power of ESP. You can read other's thoughts." He whispered some more to Frank.

Frank looked over at Lizzie.

Lizzie immediately decided to think something funny. She thought, _Frank…Nikki…Frank…Nikki…Frank…_

Frank crossed him arms. "Hey!" he yelled.

Lizzie laughed out loud.

Rage moved over to Tommy. "You can make duplicates of yourself, up to 50." He whispered something in Tommy's ear. Tommy grinned.

He shut his eyes, and another two Tommys popped up next to him!

Frank gasped. Jon and Kim looked on in amazement.

Tommy laid a hand on their foreheads, and they vanished. "Heh heh, cool."

Emi walked over to Lizzie. "Lizzie, you have the ability to fly!"

Lizzie almost passed out right there. "F-Fly?" Emi whispered how to her.

"Sweet!" Lizzie yelled as she leaped off the ground and hovered five feet above the ground.

She lightly landed on the ground again.

Emi moved back to Tran. "Telekinesis is your power." Emi whispered some more.

Tran looked over at Tommy, and her eyes glowed red. Tommy lifted off of the ground.

"Hey…HEY…HEY!!!" he screamed as Tran zoomed him across the room. She set him down dizzy, but unhurt.

"Very funny, Tran," he scowled as everyone else giggled.

Rage told Jon and Kim their power. "You two can communicate without speaking."

Jon and Kim looked at each other, beaming messages across at each other.

Frank looked at Kim. He picked up on Kim's messages.

_This is sweet!_

…

_Are you serious?_

…

She caught Frank looking at her.

"Frank is stupid."

Everybody sweatdropped.

Kim giggled and said, "Oops! Sorry, Frank. I couldn't resist, but I guess I said it out loud."

Finally, Emi reached Flow Flow. "You can control the wind, Flow Flow."

Flow Flow raised her gloves and a slight breeze blew through the laboratory. She smiled. "This will be useful."

Rage and Emi stepped back. "Now, since you all know your powers," Rage started. "Go to the PARANOiD Arena. Try to see if you can find anything about our mysterious PARANOiA here."

Earlier

"You are no longer welcome here."

…

"Why?"

"You aren't like us. You are so different. It's as if you weren't even a…"

"Shut up! If that's the way you want to be, then fine! This is the last you'll see of me."

A blond teen began to walk away from nine black-haired people.

After he was a good distance away, he began to think.

I wonder what I'm gonna do. I mean, how can I get out of here? I'm trapped…if I'm a true one. All I have to do is find the gate in this monstrous arena.

He walked for a few days, and then caught sight of a speck of light. "The gate!"

Currently

Team Delta drove along the path to PARANOiD arena. While Tran was driving (She got her license a few weeks ago), Frank was playing StepMania on a laptop. While looking for a new song, he stopped.

"Hey guys!" he called. "I think I just found the answer to our mystery." He stopped the songlist. A drum'n'bass track poured out of the computer.

"I found this while downloading user-made simfiles," Frank explained. "It's called PARANOiA GATE."

The car quieted as they listened to the new PARANOiA.

Ending Notes: THANK YOU DREAMCUBE017!!!!!! I don't know if he'll ever get the message, but he is responsible for the new song, PARANOiA GATE. It's a happy PARANOiA! Anyways, I hope you peeps are enjoying the story. It's about to get crazy go nuts!

Next Chapter: Odd One Out


	5. Odd One Out

A/N: Well, it took me forever to get this chapter up! I kept coming back to it and I kept walking away. Oh well. For now, it's time to solve the mystery of the tenth PARANOiA! Btw, IT'S IIDX TIME BABY!!!!

LET THE BEAT CONTROL YOUR BODY… Chapter 5: Odd One Out 

Includes Songfic: _murmur twins_

The jeep listened in stunned silence as the drum'n'bass track came to an end. Flow Flow stared at the screen. She couldn't believe it. A _tenth_ PARANOiA? It was too crazy to be true!

"Guys, we're almost there," Tran said, interrupting her thoughts. The front of a humongous circular building came into view.

"Wow," Kim murmured. (no pun intended) "That's incredible!" A large gate blocked off the entrance to the arena.

"Wait!" Frank started. "That's it! The PARANOiA gate!" The jeep screeched to a halt, and everyone got out. Lizzie went over to inspect it. Suddenly, she reeled back.

"Guys, LOOK!"

Everyone looked through the gate. A blond-haired boy was running from nine black-haired adults.

Tran jumped up. "That's the PARANOiAs! Whose the blond one though?" Frank began desperately searching for something in the thickness of thoughts raging in the arena.

_Get him…go aw…he gonna mak…what's he d…Stay bac…I'm not gonn…HELP!!!!!!_

Frank grabbed the bars and pulled. A force field pulsed behind the bars.

He quickly looked at Tran. "Is this what keeps the PARANOiAs in?"

"Yeah,"

"Everyone, pull it open!"

Team Delta grabbed the bars and pulled with all their might. Tommy made a few clones and they helped as well.

"Heave!"

"Heave!"

"Look, they're coming!"

The gate screeched open.

The younger boy was clearly losing energy. Frank and Lizzie jumped through the PARANOiA force field and began dragging him toward the gate.

"Do you think he's a PARANOiA?" Lizzie asked breathlessly.

"We'll find out soon enough." Frank answered. They pulled until he was directly next to the force field. Then, Tommy and Flow Flow grabbed them and pulled them through.

The blonde boy came with them.

Tommy, Kim, and Jon were quick to begin closing the gate.

"Hey!"

"No!"

"You brats!"

"STOP!"

This time, the gate swung shut easily, as if it wanted to stop the PARANOiAs from ever reaching the force field.

The group lay on the grass as the PARANOiAs looked on in hatred. They picked themselves up, put the blond boy in the jeep, and drove away.

Emi was dumbfounded.

"We saw everything on the cameras! That was _incredible_!"

"He can't be a PARANOiA," Rage said, looking at the blonde boy, who was passed out on a table in the lab. "What do you think, Alice?"

Alice peered at the boy. "Maybe we should just wait until he wakes and ask him. That's the best choice."

Rage shrugged and walked away. Lizzie sat down by the boy.

"Frank," she started. "Did you get in his thoughts?"

Frank walked over. "I think so. There were so many thoughts from the different PARANOiAs, but the last one was definitely him. It was a desperate cry for help."

Tommy walked back over. "I think it's time we left. We should let this cool off a bit."

Lizzie waved to Emi. "We'll be off now. Come get us if anything else happens!"

Emi ran over. "Before you go, take these." She handed them little belt attachments. "Hook it on your belt, and it will glow if we need you."

At home, Lizzie looked at a map of the town. She glanced at the clock. It was 6:00.

"Hey, reVolution is open."

Frank and Tommy looked at her. "ReVolution?" Frank asked. "What's that?"

Lizzie read the description. "It's a club, and…" she smiled. "Nothing but electronic music, especially DDR and IIDX!"

Tommy looked at the map. "It's a bit farther," he noticed. "We'll need the mopeds."

Ten minutes later, they were off to reVolution.

Lizzie and Tommy shared a moped, as Frank got his own. Frank glanced at a sign.

"Turn right here!" he yelled to Lizzie. She followed. They stopped in front of a large building with music pumping out.

They parked their mopeds and ran to the door. They got in and headed for the dancefloor.

"Check it out!" Lizzie laughed as they sat down at a table. "This place is amazing!" Tommy noticed a girl in long red hair up at the DJ stand. She was holding up headphones to her ears and adjusting some knobs. He nudged Frank.

"Hey, who's she?" Tommy asked.

"Beats me," he replied.

The song ended. A girl with pink pigtails ran up to a microphone and announced, "This song will end our request hour. What'll it be?"

Someone shouted, "Love Shine! C'mon Celli! Love Love Love Love Shine!"

The pink-haired girl laughed. "Alright alright, Tsugaru. Love Shine it is!" She pointed to the red-haired DJ. "Hit it, Iroha!"

The DJ smiled. "You got it, Celica!"

A happy track filled the club and everyone immediately began to dance. The pink-haired girl took up the mic again and began singing the song.

_Love, love, love, love,_

_Lovelovelovelove shiiiine,_

_Yeah yeah yeah, YEAH!_

Lizzie began swinging her arms and getting into it. Frank was having the time of his life. Tommy was just grooving. As the beats died away, they were laughing and joking and having a fun time.

Celica stepped up to the mic again and cleared her throat. "Alright peoples, it's time for my favorite part of the night. COUPLE KARAOKE!" Everyone cheered. "This screen shows the view of our camera. It will select a couple, and they will perform a song for us! Are you ready? Here we go!"

The screen showed the camera's view. It darted from one corner to the other, all around the room. Finally it stopped…directly on Frank and Lizzie.

"We have our couple!"

Frank and Lizzie (still in a state of shock) were brought up to the stage with Celica.

"Alright, you two! What are your names?" Celica asked.

"I'm Frank."

"And I'm Lizzie."

"Well Frank and Lizzie, you will perform one song for us. What will it be?"

Frank got a smile on his face. "Murmur twins. All the way!"

A lot of people cheered at the song pick.

Celica handed Lizzie and Frank mics. Then, cued them in with Iroha starting the song.

A piano started dimly, then picked up. (FFrank, LLizzie, BBoth)

B:_ follow you…_

_Jamming away to anything._

_Just to come on to anything._

_Just to believe in we're hiding_

_Alone in the dark._

_Give me some more!_

_Hard to believe in everything._

_Why you are sad?_

_We don't know!_

_Sat at the door and leave you_

_Safe from the dark._

_Leave me alone, mom!_

Their voices rose as the song got louder. Everyone began dancing again, as Lizzie started the first verse.

L:_ You don't have to believe_

_In a color yourself._

_But I saw it._

_Find a beat._

_Do all of the things, so you know_

_Fight the bad feeling._

_No fair!_

Frank took over the next part.

F:_ It's a wonderful thing,_

_You're having your fun._

_There's something wrong with these._

_Follow to me and can do_

_Our song tonight._

L:_ I just wanna be_

_Another song._

F:_ So I don't mind that they don't_

_Talk to me._

B: True… 

_But do you know that song and you're_

_Ok! You are mine besides!_

_follow you…_

_Jamming away to anything._

_Just to come on to anything._

_Just to believe in we're hiding_

_Alone in the dark._

_Give me some more!_

_Hard to believe in everything._

_Why you are sad?_

_We don't know!_

_Sat at the door and leave you_

_Safe from the dark._

_Leave me alone, mom!_

_Leave me alone, mom!_

As the piano faded out, Frank and Lizzie took a bow. Celica pulled them aside. "That was fantastic! How do you sing that way?"

They smiled. "DDR obsession helps…but who knows?"

They went back to Tommy, who hounded them with praise.

"Wow that was great!"

"How do you do that in front of everybody?"

"Were you scared?"

"Isn't murmur twins amazing?"

Frank chuckled, then felt his hip turn hot. He looked over and saw the attachment glowing. "Alright HyperMidget, let's go!"

As they quickly left the building, Celica and Iroha watched them carefully. 

"Think it's them?" Iroha asked, with worried eyes.

"Relax, Iroha. It's good news. Let's go find Daruma. He'll know what to do."

Ending Notes: Well…IIDX DJs!!! I have been dying to do this forever!!!!! Thanks to all my peeps over at bemanistyle and remywiki who finally helped me match some names with faces!

Next Chapter: ANSWERS (Emi vs. Celica)


	6. The Cardinal Rule

A/N: Ok, I'm back for more. After closely reading the bios on remywiki for the IIDX DJs, I realized that I might not be able to get everything perfect. ANY IIDX LOVERS BETTER NOT BITE MY HEAD OFF FOR INCORRECT CHARACTERIZATION!!!! There's just too much for me to take in without screwing something up. Anyways, it's time for more DDR/IIDXness!

LET THE BEAT CONTROL YOUR BODY… 

**Chapter 6: ANSWERS: The Cardinal Rule**

* * *

The three burst into the lab. Emi rushed over to them.

"The boy, he's waking up!" she cried. Rage was carefully monitoring some screens, making thorough notes.

"I hope he's all right. I mean, he was out pretty cold when you brought him."

The boy fidgeted eventually taking a raspy breath. Everyone got closer, surrounding the table. He cracked open an eye…

…and screamed.

Everyone jumped back from the table as the boy bolted upright, gasping for air. The boy looked around at the five people around the table. Lizzie moved a little closer.

"Stay back! Don't come any closer!"

She stopped, and spoke. "What's the matter with you?"

"Wh-where am I?"

Frank answered this time. "You're in our lab. You passed out as we were dragging you out of the PARANOiD Arena."

"Wait…I'm out?" he askd.

"Yes."

The boy suddenly broke into hysterical laughter. "I'm free! Hahaha! I've made it! Too bad Survivor MAX! Hahahahahaha!" He fell back onto the table, uncontrollably laughing.

"Shall I try to stop him?" Rage asked.

"Go ahead."

Rage shook the boy by his shoulders, until he stopped laughing. The boy looked up at Rage and said, "How did I get out?"

"They carried you." He answered, and then stared at the boy with interest. "We want to ask you some questions."

"Such as?"

"First of all, what is your name?" Emi broke in.

"I was called PARANOiA GATE by the others in the arena. It was a taunt as to how I would never have the ability to escape, or to ever find the PARANOiA Gate. The others all thought that they could escape the arena, although _I_ knew it was impossible."

"Hmmm…" Tommy thought. "What did you do in there, PARANOiA GATE?"

"Well, call me Gate. I don't ever want to be known to the world as a PARANOiA. As for your question, I mostly thought. I would carve stuff on the ground, such as a story, to keep busy. I have written twelve stories. Most of them are about action, but I wrote one or two romance."

Lizzie nodded approvingly, as she was an avid reader.

"Gate," she asked. "how could you find the gate?"

"I got into a dispute with the rest of the PARANOiAs. I left the group. After walking for what seems like forever I hit the gate. It was a stroke of luck."

"The PARANOiAs followed you?" Rage asked.

"Yeah, I guess they figured I had a better chance of finding the gate. I wonder, how did I get out with the barrier in effect?"

Rage looked at the screen. "As to my calculations," he began. "You aren't a PARANOiA." Gate's eyes widened. "You are different from the others. You aren't malevolent, have blonde hair instead of black, and had feelings other than anger and hate."

Gate was shocked. He looked at the wall and then suddenly broke into a huge smile.

"This is fantastic!"

The other ten smiled. Suddenly, the door to the lab opened. Everybody spun around, since the entire group was there. Who else could get into the lab?

Lizzie gasped. "Celica and Iroha! The MC and DJ from reVolution!"

A boy in a hood, with goggles and a well-fitting orange jacket, followed the two girls. They ran into the lab, not realizing the surprised faces around them.

Rage stepped up. "How the heck did you get in here?"

Suddenly realizing what she had done, Celica stopped, but soon pressed on. "We had to get to you. After seeing the trademark belt alarms, and their clear knowledge of BEMANI, we knew that you had three of them."

"Three of who?" Emi asked, confused.

The boy stepped forward. "I'm Daruma. These two have been helping me scout for the four guardians."

Frank said, "Four what now?"

Daruma sighed. "The PARANOiAs cannot get out of the PARANOiA gate, yes?"

"Yeah," Emi said, unsure of what to expect.

"Well, what if a new gate was erected?"

Everyone gasped. Tran put her hands on her hips. "A _new_ gate? Is that even possible?"

Iroha pulled out a laptop from the sack she was carrying. "You guys may have cameras, but I've discovered the one blind spot in the system, and _that_, I must say, is quite a busy place." She began typing extremely fast. In a second, a window showed up with a live feed.

"The inside of the Arena!" Gate exclaimed.

Iroha used a joystick to move the picture. It was from a mobile camera.

Rage was shocked. "You got a motorized camera in there? I'm impressed." Iroha continued to move around until a large stone carving showed on the screen. Four circles with a line connecting them. Two Chinese symbols were inside each circle.

"Why Chinese?" Flow Flow asked. "This isn't making any sense."

Iroha looked up and said, "This is the PARANOiAs' escape plan. From what we have picked up, it is called the Cardinal Gate. They have been creating it with black magic, which, in turn, has caused some interesting effects."

Everyone huddled closer as Iroha explained further. "The PARANOiAs' goal was to create a new escape route other than the PARANOiA Gate. What they didn't realize is that they had accidentally created a man, the embodiment of the Gate. Because of their black magic, the Gate gained a human manifestation. Foreboding but quiet, he has earned the name "Keeper" among the PARANOiAs."

Daruma took over. "Furthermore, the Keeper mentioned of four Cardinal Guardians that could seal not only the gate, but the whole arena. They say no black magic is perfect, but they left a huge gaping hole in their otherwise seamless plan."

"So they tried to patch it up as quickly as possible. They got members of the group to plant a clue to 'three people' who could destroy them. Then, they played up on it by finding groups of three and threatening them. No one, not even us, looked for a group of four. So, when we found out there were four, we started looking again. And it looks like we've found them. 1, 2, 3, 4!"

Emi looked around. "Daruma, what are you talking about? Team Delta has three members."

"Oh yeah? Whose that on the table?"

With wide eyes everyone looked at Gate, still on the table. He looked at the faces staring intently at him.

"What? _I'm_ the fourth Cardinal Guardian?!"

Celica looked at Frank. "Quick! Where did you find him?"

"Inside the PARANOiD Arena. Why?" Frank answered.

"It all fits…it all fits…" she murmured. "Their last attempt to fix their black magic mess was to cast a spell on the fourth Guardian. He or she was to be separated so that it would be nearly impossible to get the four together. Placing him in the Arena would surely lower his chances of being found by the other Cardinal Guardians!"

The group was totally dumbfounded. They had not expected their entire mission to be thrown upside down and then twirled a few times to make things even more muddled!

"Iroha," Kim said. "what do the Chinese symbols in the circles mean?"

Iroha looked at the screen and wrote them down. Then she studied them for a few minutes. "The first one, on the top, is GENBU. It is represented by a tortoise. The one on the left is BYAKKO. It is normally a tiger. The third one on the right is SEIRYŪ. That is a dragon. Finally, the last one is SUZAKU. That is represented by a bird. Those were the Japanese translations, since they are commonly used for symbolism that is split into four parts and such in Japanese anime or manga."

"Lizzie," Frank said. "Those are us."

The back of his hand started to burn, and he saw the Genbu symbols etched in green on his hand. Lizzie's hand sported yellow Byakko symbols. Tommy's hand was emblazoned with blue Seiryū symbols. Gate had white Suzaku symbols upon his hand.

The four Cardinal Guardians had been found.

* * *

Ending Notes: Ha! Any IIDX players, especially those who have played IIDX DistorteD will understand this. The way to get to the OMES (One More Extra Stage), is to play FOUR Extra Stages. The artist names of the songs just happen to be Genbu, Byakko, Seiryū, and Suzaku…

The whole thing is called the Cardinal Gate Extra Stages.

Next Chapter: Return to the Arena


	7. Clues to the Challenge

A/N: It's been a bit since I've worked on this story, but hey, I've got a whole new set of ideas for story elements! One more for Cardinal Gate and another from DDR SuperNOVA 2! Well, let's get on with it! (BTW, I know I said that they'd return to the arena, but I've decided to add more things into it first. That's _next_ chapter's fun!)

_**LET THE BEAT CONTROL YOUR BODY**_

**Chapter 7: Clues to the Challenge**

* * *

Heading home, they were even more confused than before. The mopeds carried the four back to their house, and they sat back down on the couch. All four were staring at the marks etched on the backs of their hands.

Lizzie was the first one to speak. "You know, these seem vaguely familiar…"

Frank looked up. "Yeah, they do!" He looked back at the two symbols… Genbu…Oh! "Gate, where are you going to sleep?"

Gate shrugged. "The couch is fine."

Tommy said. "I know you've been comfortable in the Arena for fourteen years, but come on! We can arrange a room fore you."

Everyone looked at Tommy. "How?"

"Guys," he sighed. "How do you think we _got_ the house?!"

"OOOOHHH…" Frank said, getting Tommy's idea. He reached for the phone and hit Rage's cell speed dial.

…

…

"Hello?"

"Rage?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Rage, we uh…We need you to call Izam again."

"Ah, I see. Gate needs a room, huh?"

"Yeah…"

"I'll arrange it, hang on a sec."

He hung up and they waited for a few minutes. Suddenly, the whole house shook! The four guardians latched on to the closest thing and hung on. After two minutes, the shaking stopped.

They looked around and headed upstairs.

"Hey!" Tommy shouted. Many things had changed. The upper hallway now encircled the foyer, giving a balcony view of the first floor. There was a room on each side of the balcony.

"Wait," Frank started. "Where'd the bathroom go?"

"Let's see if it's inside one of our rooms."

"Wait 2.0! Look at our rooms!" Lizzie shouted. The letters were still on the doors, but Lizzie's color switched. Her door was white now. Gate's was Red, and Frank's was still green and Tommy's was still blue. They all opened their doors at the same time.

"What the?!" Frank yelled.

"Cool!" Tommy said.

"Whoa!" Lizzie gasped.

"This is sweet!" Gate exclaimed.

Frank looked around his room. His computer was still there but his mural had changed. It now showed the Genbu symbols and a large green robot-like thing. There was something else below the symbols, but it appeared to be blurred out.

Lizzie saw her closet and her stereo…but her mural was different. It was a large tiger with her Byakko symbols beside it. More words were under the symbols, but she couldn't read them.

Tomyy's stereo and his huge bed, but his wall was totally different. It was now a large writhing dragon. "Wow…" he murmured. There were also his Seiryū symbols. But, what was that below the symbols. It was impossible to read.

Gate took the first look at his room. The walls were a mix between red, crimson, and orange. It was bizarre, but…soothing, almost. His bed was a four-poster, with heavy red curtains. He felt the curtains and found that they were surprisingly silky and smooth. He turned to his far wall and saw a gigantic mural. It was a beautiful bird flying above brambles and thorns. He smiled. That bird was him, escaped from the horrors below. He saw the symbols for Suzaku in the painted clouds. But, he couldn't read the stuff below the symbols. What was it, and why was it so blurry?

Everyone turned and opened a door in their room.

All at the same time, they yelled, "Hey, found the bathroom!"

They all stopped and walked out onto the balcony. "Wait, how did we all find the bathroom?" Tommy asked.

Frank smiled and said. "We each have our own now!"

Everyone was happy at that prospect, and they went downstairs.

Lizzie turned to the rest and said, "I'm in the mood for midnight shopping. Anyone interested?"

True enough, night had fallen some time ago, but Frank was the only one who seemed interested.

"I'll go, Lizzie, the other two can get some rest."

"Ok," Tommy said, relieved that he could get some sleep. "We'll see you tomorrow morning. Night!"

Tommy and Gate climbed the steps and went into their rooms.

Frank and Lizzie pulled out their mopeds and sped off toward the market, not wanting to walk. Soon enough, they were at the market with Points cards in hand. Even though it was 11:30, the market was just as busy as it was before.

Lizzie saw why. "Look over there! 10:00pm - 6:30am, 20 to 30 off all items!"

It took Frank a few seconds to figure out where she saw the sign, but he found it. "Wow, Lizzie. How did you see that?"

She simply tapped her face and said, "I've got shopper eyes."

Frank rolled his apparently non-shopper eyes and moved on. He told Lizzie, "Can we stop in that BEMANI shop real fast? I know you want to go to that shoe shop but _pleeeeeaaaase_?"

Lizzie sighed. "Ok, but let's make it quick."

Frank smiled and pushed open the door, only to be surprised by who met him.

"Hey Frank!" Alice shyly smiled as she rang up another customer's purchase. The customer left and she turned to him. "How have you been?"

"Alice, you own the shop?"

"Yeah, but I only work it night shift, since that's actually the busier times. I have helpers in the daytime and a few now. Actually, I've been hiring for night shift."

Frank smiled a little bigger and Lizzie groaned. She knew what was coming.

"What exactly do you have to do to get hired?" Frank asked.

Alice smiled too. "You take a test on BEMANI. 90 and you're in."

Frank turned to Lizzie, who was itching to go buy something. "OK, you go ahead, and I'll meet you back at the house."

Lizzie was gone the second after he said that.

Alice laughed. "OK Frank, I see what you're getting at. I'll be right back."

She went into the back room, then came back with two sheets of paper stapled together.

"Just take the test and I'll see how well you did."

-_Could _you_ be a worker at BEMANImart? Take the test with Frank to see if you passed-_

Write the name of _DoLL_'s artist correctly.

What is the OMES of IIDX 10th Style and give the artist.

In DDR EXTREME2, there was a song by Wildside. What was it?

What is the vocalist who did both _Apocalypse_ and _murmur twins_?

What song by Ryu corresponds with the moon, snow, and flowers?

Which song on DDR has the most official remixes?

What genre includes songs_ in motion_ and _Listen up_?

What DDR home version included _INJECTION OF LOVE (e)_?

What song by Sanxion7 is set to be on DDR SuperNOVA2?

Which genre includes _Go Beyond!!_,_ Aurora_, and _Abyss -remix-_

BONUS: When _Apocalypse_ was crossed over to pop'n music 15, the subtitle changed from _dirge of swans_ to what?

* * *

Franks (correct) answers:

TËЯRA

One More Lovely / Risk Junk

IRRESISTIBLEMENT

Yuu Tokiwa

SETSUGEKKA (雪月花)

PARANOiA

Click House

DDR Str!ke

EternuS

Trance Core

BONUS: -memento mori-

* * *

Alice smiled. "You are hired Frank Stanello. When we aren't on 'business' with Team Delta, we'll be here…all night."

"Yeah, Ok, but right now, Lizzie expects me to catch up with her back at the house. See ya Alice."

"Bye Frank!"

* * *

Lizzie was waiting anxiously for Frank back at the house. It was now 1:14, but she had woken up Tommy and Gate. She needed them and Frank as well. Frank, come home!

* * *

Ending Notes: Ok, I felt like ending this chapter hastily because I need the next chapter up to make the next chapter of my other BIONICLE fic S A E R I to make sense…so ya.

Next Chapter: Powers Lost, Powers Gained


	8. Powers Lost, Powers Gained

A/N: I need to get this up to keep writing S A E R I, my BIONICLE/BEMANI crossover. So now, the Cardinal Guardians are getting a whole new prospect on this battle!

_**LET THE BEAT CONTROL YOUR BODY**_

**Chapter 8: Powers Lost, Powers Gained

* * *

**

Frank walked in the door to see an excited Lizzie and a sleepy Tommy and Gate.

"Lizzie?" Frank asked, bewildered. "Why are Tommy and Gate up?"

"Because, I realized what we needed to unlock the Cardinal Guardian powers!"

…

"What?"

"Listen Frank," Lizzie started. "You're not the only BEMANI nerd here. I remembered where the symbols came from, and went to quickly go buy another copy of what we needed: Beatmania IIDX 13: DistorteD, console ver."

Frank looked around the room. There was something to that…If only he could remember…

They went to their machines and popped in the PS2 DistorteD. After loading the game, Lizzie went over into the Free Mode song select and scrolled up. CARDINAL GATE flashed onto the screen.

Everyone's eyes widened except Lizzie's. Was this the Cardinal Gate?

"Guys, look…"

Lizzie opened the Cardinal Gate and went into a screen of floating cubes. She switched between them.

GENBU…

玄 武 … Ganymede

BYAKKO…

白 虎 …華 蝶 風 雪

SEIRYŪ…

青 龍 … waxing and wanding

SUZAKU…

朱 雀 … CONTRACT

The Cardinal Gate was opened. The machine glowed and shook and four colored beams shot out of the screen. Four cubes seemed to encase the Guardians. Frank felt something hard being slapped onto his ankle. Lizzie's neck was starting to burn. Tommy couldn't stop the pain in his waist. Gate felt as if his arm would split open.

The light and color continued until it suddenly stopped.

The four collapsed onto the ground. Frank felt his ankle. A small emerald was embedded around an anklet. Lizzie touched her neck. She felt a choker necklace, with a pearl set into it. Tommy lifted his shirt and checked his waist. A belt of flexible but sturdy material was wrapped around his pants. Inside the buckle was a small sapphire. Gate finally checked his arm, which had a tight bracelet with a deep red ruby in it.

Everyone looked at the gems, then at each other. Frank reached out and gently touched his. "Genbu?"

"WHOA!" Frank yelled as green beams erupted from the gem and surrounded him. In a few seconds, he was dressed as a ninja/assassin. He felt a sheath on his belt and pulled out two fine daggers with emerald cubes in them. He glanced at Lizzie, and nodded. Lizzie touched her pearl. "Byakko!"

"YIKE!" Lizzie screeched. White rays enveloped her from her pearl. She was left with long hair down with a headband. Her clothes were replaced with a long flowing white robe, tied at the waist. She was now barefoot, and held a long staff topped with a white cube. Tommy touched his sapphire. "Seiryū."

"HOLY!" Tommy screamed. The blue rays took over his body. Everybody gasped when they saw him. His shirt was gone, leaving only torn and ragged pants. It looked like he had rusty shoulder armor. However, his arms and half of his chest were muscled and scaly. Tommy had grown two large teeth and his eyes were completely black. His hair was longer and rumpled. Metal boots completed his transformation. Tommy pulled out a large sword with a small sapphire cube in the hilt.

"Hey!" Gate interrupted. "I know what he is! Isn't the symbol supposed to be a dragon?"

Everyone nodded.

"Well, Tommy is symbolism itself. It's like he's a knight that was merged with the dragon he was supposed to slay!"

Lizzie and Frank looked back and saw the resemblance.

Tommy grinned. "I get the cool, clever symbolism? Sweeeet."

Gate looked cautiously at the ruby on his arm. He took a deep breath and touched it. "Suzaku…"

"OH MY-!" The red beams engulfed him, leaving him completely different. His hair was tied back in a bandana, and he was wearing fatigues. Dog tags jingled around his neck. Gate reached to his side and pulled out an automatic pistol. (DJ TROOPAZ!) Gate grinned.

"You know," Frank said. "I _really_ don't like that look."

The four guardians looked at one another and at themselves. Things had changed drastically in about five minutes. The next step would have to be even stranger.

And yes…it was.

Frank lit up, and raced to his room. Looking under the 玄武 , he could see new writing.

Ganymede / Esoteric Slowcore -Betray the Betrayer-

The rest were as follows:

華 蝶 風 雪 / Asian Mixture -Those Closest are the Farthest-

waxing and wanding / Dance Speed -Moving Motion-

CONTRACT / Sublime Techno -Renewable Horror-

The clues…

The music…

It all fit together in the end.

_Ring…_

_Ring…_

"(mumble) Hello?"

"Emi?"

"Lizzie, this had better be good, it's…IT'S THREE IN THE MORNING!"

"EMI, Emi! We've unlocked our powers as guardians, and figured out a few things."

"Wow, fantastic. Look, can this wait until mo-"

"Emi. Now."

"(groan) _FINE_."

Ten minutes later and Tommy opened the door.

Emi was yawning in her night robe.

"Hey, Tom-"

She stared at Tommy. "_**OH. MY. GOD!**_"

Frank came up behind him with Lizzie and Gate. "Emi! Quiet down. You'll wake the neighborhood!"

"What is this?!"

Everyone sighed and Gate shook Emi by the shoulders. "Wake _UP_, already."

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "That's it. I'm making her some coffee."

Lizzie walked off in her robe and Emi walked into the house, a little dazed. She sat down on one of the sofas and looked at Frank, Tommy, and Gate.

"What happened to you guys?" She asked, again.

Everyone help up their hand, showing the faintly glowing symbols. Emi got the message.

"How did you figure it out?" Emi questioned.

Frank laughed. "Boy, aren't you the fountain of questions tonight. Come on, Emi. Any self-respecting anime has some item that can be activated using will, touch, or spell." He mulled it over. "2 out of 3 ain't bad."

-fourth wall breaks down: kid shown in pajamas typing at computer-

…

…

-fourth wall is rebuilt: kid disappears-

(sweatdrops)

"Ok, as I was saying, it's just an anime trick. I tried it, and it worked."

Lizzie came back in with the coffee. "Here, this'll wake you up pretty quickly, Emi."

Emi took a sip and her eyes shot open. "**_OHMIGOD!_** **_LizziehowmuchcaffeinedidyoushoveinthisonecupohmigodohmigodohmigodLizziewhatdidyoudooooooo_…**"

Emi relaxed, and smiled. "Now _that_ is what I call a caffeine rush."

Now firmly awake, they began to make a game plan. Emi suggested that they had better go alone, without the rest of Team Delta. Their new powers should be enough to seal the Cardinal Gate. Emi was clearly holding something back.

Frank tried to read her mind.

…

…

…

"HEY!" Frank yelled. "I can't read minds anymore!"

Lizzie tried to fly and Tommy tried to make clones. Sure enough, they didn't work. Even when they deactivated their Cardinal Self, it still didn't work.

Emi nodded. "It's probably the Cardinal energy. Your other powers were fueled by your will alone. With the new energy source, Cardinal energy, the powers of your will were multiplied, but concentrated on transformation into your Cardinal Self. If I could say Cardinal any more times in this explanation…I would!"

(sweatdrop)

"Whatever. We lost our old powers but got new one's through our Cardinal transformation." Tommy said to clarify.

"Yeah."

"OK."

The sun was rising, and everyone looked out of the window. Emi looked back at the four guardians.

"Stay low. Don't let anyone know, short of the others and I–yes, that includes Celica, Iroha, and Daruma–about your new powers. If PARANOiD were to find out, it could be BAD."

"K, see you later Emi."

Emi left and the four were back as normal kids again.

Let's do this.

* * *

Ending Notes: Took me awhile, but I was getting new ideas for what to use the story for. Look for elements from DDR Hottest Party and SuperNOVA 2!

Next Chapter: 9:00 AM


	9. 5:00 AM

A/N: My work has been getting a little more attention these days. My inbox is starting to see some favorites and story alerts. Yayz. Anyways, since this was one of the favorites, I shall finish this first. It is now time to get it ON!

**_LET THE BEAT CONTROL YOUR BODY_**

**Chapter 9: 5:00 AM**

* * *

It was 5:00 on a Monday morning morning. No one had gotten much sleep. For Frank and Lizzie, they hadn't gotten _any_ sleep. The situation had taken an interesting turn, and now they had to figure out how to use their new advantages.

"Guys," Gate yawned. "After I get some energy, we might want to start heading back to the Arena. It's about time we finished this."

Frank nodded. "I think Gate's right. The sooner we make a move, the less time we have to stay low. The element of surprise is always ruined the longer you wait."

Everyone nodded and ran to Alice's house. Alice was just getting back from her job at BEMANIMart.

"What are you four up to?" She asked.

Lizzie looked at Alice. "Alice, do you think we can make it through the Arena to the Cardinal Gate without being noticed?"

Alice smiled. "You guys remember how big the thing was, right?" The four nodded. "I think you can dodge the PARANOiAs long enough to find the Cardinal Gate. Here, we'll do even better."

They went into Alice's lab. Alice to a side desk and pulled out a sheet of paper. It had a map of the Arena on it.

"I traced the coordinates of Iroha's camera. I know the area the Cardinal Gate should be in. The four looked at the paper. Small black dots flashed on it.

"Alice," Frank asked. "What is up with this paper? It's…flashing…"

"That's the PARANOiAs' current locations. Once you four get in, you'll show up as your respective colors: green, red, white, and blue."

The Guardians left the lab and grabbed mopeds from their garage. Soon, they were off towards the Arena. With Tommy riding on the back of Lizzie's moped, he could pay attention to other things besides the road. Luckily, he caught sight of the last thing they wanted to see. Men in black cloaks.

"Lizzie!" He hissed. "PARANOiA followers!" Lizzie gasped and honked her horn to Frank and Gate. They saw the men and revved the mopeds' engines. They sped forward as the followers began to run toward them.

"Frank!" Gate yelled. "Look out!"

A follower had actually caught up to Frank. He seemed to be floating above the ground. Before he knew it, the follower had crashed into the speeding moped and threw him to the ground. Frank got to his feet as Gate pulled up.

"Want to risk it?" Frank asked him.

"Sure." Gate replied.

"GENBU!"

"SUZAKU!"

Beams surrounded them and they were in their Cardinal Gate form. Genbu was quick and agile. He leaped over the head of the follower and struck him a good slice across the back with his knives. Suzaku followed up by shooting their adversary a few times in the legs to slow him down.

Another moped pulled up.

"SEIRYŪ!"

"BYAKKO!"

Lizzie and Tommy joined the fight.

"Guys!" Byakko yelled. "This blows our cover! We have to move fast!"

Townspeople started to gather as the battle raged on. Seiryū breathed fire on to the follower, lighting him ablaze. Byakko raised her staff and more fire sprouted up around him. Suzaku took a final few shots with his pistol and the followers began to flee.

Realizing that half the town was staring at them, the four resumed their normal forms and sped off on their mopeds. They left the town behind and raced to the Arena. The symbols glowing on the guardians' hands were burning brighter and hotter the closer they came to the arena.

"Gate!" Lizzie called. "Slow down! We're here!"

The mopeds screeched to a halt as the first sunbeams lazily peeked over the horizon. Frank stood watching the sunrise for a few minutes before consulting Alice's map.

"Ok…" he started. "No one's near the door, so I say we start now."

Everyone entered the Arena. Gate shivered. The smell, the dim lighting, the mustiness…it scared the hell out of him. It reminded him too much of his time spent here.

"Guys, let's hurry!" he whimpered.

Tommy looked on the map and saw where the Cardinal Gate was located. "Ok, we don't have very far to walk. It's right over here…"

They walked for what seemed like fifteen minutes when they saw the Cardinal Gate.

"Wow…" Frank said breathlessly.

"The secret of the gate…" Lizzie murmured.

"Impressive…" Gate smiled.

"Incredible…" Tommy said stoically.

The gate pulsed with an unseen energy. The symbols on the gate reacted violently and shook the gate. A bright flash of light almost blinded the guardians.

"Stop! There! You four…"

When the light cleared the guardians looked behind them to see a cloak. It wasn't a PARANOiD cloak, but just a black cloak. A heavy hood hid the face of the wearer.

"You four know the true meaning. The true beat."

The guardians glanced at one another and looked back at the Figure.

"Keeper. Don't forget."

He turned.

"Through that gate lies escape for the PARANOiAs. For you it leads to a final step in your journey."

Frank stepped forward. "What do we have to do?"

The smile gave an amused grunt. "Prove to me that your knowledge was not wasted."

Before they knew it, the guardians were transported through the gate. The room was damp, dark, and smelled something awful!

"Knowledge? Wasted?" Tommy asked quickly.

"I don't know what he meant." Frank admitted. He felt his hand clench around something. He looked down. He clutched what appeared to be a _word_ in his hands. He looked over.

"Hey Li–" he started, but never finished. The room was suddenly a corridor. Traps were swinging in and out of the walls.

"What is this?"

_It is a test._

"Huh?"

_C'mon, you can pass this easily…with my help._

"Whose help? Who are you?"

_Frank, it's me._

What appeared to be Genbu, Frank's cardinal form, materialized beside him.

"Whoa! Genbu!"

_The one and only._

"You want to help me pass these traps?"

_Only of course._

"Well…GENBU!"

The apparition merged with Frank and Frank became Genbu. He ran towards knives swinging from the walls. He dove through them, and ducked under the axe twirling precariously overtop of him. He dodges and swerved, spun and slid, all the way to the end of the corridor.

Three altars were at the end of the hallway. Each had a word that looked similar to the one Genbu was holding on top of it.

"My word is…TRANCE CORE?"

He looked at it again. He tossed the word lightly between his two hands. He looked at the altars.

Colors…

The Strong Jaeger…

Go Beyond!!…

"Oh," he exclaimed. "I get it!"

He placed the Trance Core on the altar with the words "Go Beyond!!" on them.

The altars merged into one altar. They now sported different words.

Genbu, betray the betrayer… 

"What?"

He thought back. That's right! These were the words on his mural back at his house. A door opened behind the altar, and Genbu entered it.

* * *

Lizzie looked at her hallway. She shielded her eyes from the intense heat. A raging inferno was blazing all the way down the hallway. She could barely make out some sort of tables at the end of the corridor. She clutched the word DRUM'N'BASS in her hand.

_This is easy._

"What was that?!"

_Lizzie, I'm right here._

"Wha?! Byakko?! Is that you?"

_Yes._

"Do I need your powers?"

_Move to the head of the class, smarty._

Lizzie rolled her eyes and yelled, "BYAKKO!"

Spirit and flesh became one as Byakko and Lizzie merged.

Byakko scanned the scene and raised her staff. Water flowed out of it, drowning the flames in a cool, rushing wave.

"Ha! Battle of the elements!"

When the flame was extinguished, Byakko began to walk across the wet floor. Upon reaching the altar, Byakko examined the words resting on each of the altars.

era -nostalmix-…

BAD BOY BASS!!…

smile…

She mulled things over. "Drum'N'Bass…Oh!"

She gently placed the Drum'N'Bass word on the altar that held the words era -nostalmix-. The altar changed words almost immediately.

_Byakko, those closest are the farthest._

"Hey…aren't those the words in my room?" she wondered.

A door appeared behind the altar, and Byakko stepped into it.

* * *

Tommy was scared. He was suddenly all alone facing what looked like an elaborate puzzle of doom. Floor tiles flashed different colors, and spikes occasionally protruded from those floor tiles. Tommy knew that the goal was to get to the other side of the room, but he saw no means of doing so. He picked up his word and felt a hot flash in his hand. The word had burned a mark into his palm, a strange-looking P._Tommy!_

"Ah! Whose there!?"

_Tommy what did you do!?_

The voice appeared to be in pain.

"What's going on?" Tommy yelled.

_Over here!_

Tommy looked over and saw his Cardinal Form on the floor, rolling in agony.

"Wha? Seiryū?"

_Yes, it's me! And you touched a cursed itemmmAAAAUUUUGGGHHH!! _

Tommy looked at his palm. The mark had burned itself on the other side of his hand too, directly over his Seiryū symbols. He realized that he had unknowingly limited his powers.

_Tommy…listen to me! I can still lend you power, but I will only be able to do it for a few seconds at a time. If you can make it across the tiles to the altars with the word in your hand…you will be able to lift the mark._

Tommy gingerly touched the word again and felt no effect. He stood up and looked at it.

"SADISTIC HARDCORE? What is _that_?" Tommy asked.

He glanced out over the tiles. There was a pattern here…

"SEIRYŪ!" he screamed. He felt a meter draining as he went. Seiryū leaped over some tiles, and he could step on spikes with his toughened dragon soles. When he leapt for the final time, his power drained, leaving him unharmed on a tile. Spikes shot upward around him and then retracted. Tommy got the green light. "SEIRYŪ!" he yelled. Once again he could bound across the tiles unharmed.

_Tommy…hurry! I'm losing energy!_

Seiryū took a final jump over a large spike and landed on the other side of the room.

_Thank goodness…Nice job, Tommy!_

Seiryū expelled himself from Tommy and was left there, gasping on the floor.

The Dirty of Loudness…

NIJIIRO…

Digital Mind (A/T Libra Mix)…

Tommy understood what the word he held meant now.

"It's a IIDX puzzle!"

He set the words on the "The Dirty of Loudness" altar. The words shifted.

_Seiryū, move in motion…_

"That sounds familiar," Tommy said. "I think it's the words that are on that sweet mural in my room."

He felt his hand burn, and saw the mark shrink and disappear.

_Tommy, you did good…_

Seiryū was standing now and smiling.

Tommy smiled back and went through the door that appeared behind the altar.

* * *

Gate looked up. This corridor was different. It looked like the inside of the Arena again! He glanced around. Nobody was there. At the end of the hallway were three altars.

"What's this?" he asked. He looked down and saw the letters IDM clutched in his hand. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. He walked to the end of the hallway and examined the altars.

_No one's going to stop you, y'know._

"Huh?"

_Yeah, a mysterious voice from the shadows! Beware my mysteriousness!_

"A sarcastic ghost, eh?" Gate asked, slightly amused. "Well, I can live with that."

_Cut the crap. I'm Suzaku._

Gate saw a transparent teenager that looked exactly like him when Gate changed into his alternate form.

"So, you're the actual spirit of Suzaku?"

_Bingo._

Gate turned to the altars once more.

"What do I need to do?"

_What do you think you need to do?_

The altars had words on them as well.

CURUS…

Arrabbiata…

ZETA 素数 の 世 界 と超 越 者 ...

Gate thought it over for a minute. He knew what these were…

He set the IDM letters on the third altar.

Before he knew it, the altar exploded, leaving a woman in its place. The woman wore a white gown and had sparks flying around her head.

"Gate, I am Sigma." She said.

Gate waited in silence.

"I know you very well. I was the one who had to pluck you from your parents and take you to this wretched arena eight years ago. It was not by choice, but by the black magic that controlled the time."

A tear came to Gate's eye. It all came back to him now…

_Do you remember, Gate? Do you remember the thunderstorm? The tiny creatures? Yes I think you do…_

Gate looked away from Suzaku, who was sniggering to himself. He couldn't believe it. He had forgotten all this time that his parents were back in town, with all of those strange little beings. What were they called again…?

Sigma sighed. "Gate, take these. The renewable horror that haunts this place is about to return. Use them wisely. All will turn out well in the end."

Sigma sparked and disappeared with a smile on her lips, leaving a small bag of tiny objects behind.

An echo of her words stayed on the wall.

_Suzaku, the renewable horror is about to return…_

Gate turned to Suzaku. "Let's go."

* * *

Ending Notes: This was a long chapter, but things are really starting to go somewhere! I have the final chapters planned and ready. I LOVE BEMANI PUNS…don't you? I might be finally getting DDR SuperNOVA 2 tomorrow on Black Friday. Hey, I just noticed something. Exactly one year ago I was writing my BIONICLE fic "When the Rain Falls" because after finishing a chapter I went to go get ThrillVille on Black Friday. Huh...cooooooolll... :D

Next Chapter: A Little Pop-kun


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